Daily Archives: June 12, 2017

The passages for our Faithful Daily Reading today are 2 Chronicles 4:1 – 5:1 and Matthew 4:1-11. Pastorally, I judge, that the Matthew passage might be far more helpful to comment on.

In this reading we see Jesus recalling verses from the Old Testament and quoting them to Satan. Jesus was victorious. Have you tried doing what Jesus did and it hasn’t worked? I wonder, “Why?”.

Perhaps the answer lies in the distinction between magic and faith. Magic is using an object or chant in a desperate attempt to ward off evil or control circumstances. Faith on the other hand is a quiet confidence that what God says is true enough to act on. We have to be careful about using Bible verses as a magic talisman, waving them around to desperately repel temptation (but we wouldn’t do that would we?).

But when we look at Matthew chapter 4, we see that Jesus used Scripture in quite another way. He went into the Word, found a principle or truth, and said in effect, “I will now live by this truth.”

Jesus saw the Word of God as truth, and was determined to act on that truth. It was this exercise of faith that gave Him victory over His temptations. And it is just the same exercise of faith that will give us the victory when we are tempted today.

So, we have to look for the key to our victory in the Word of God (really, where else would we find it?) – but not use our Bible as if it is a magic formula. Rather, let’s take God at His Word, act on what He says and let God use our faith to give us the victory over temptation.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer has a good word on “Temptation”, and I quote it here…

“The Bible tells only two temptations stories, the temptation of the first man and the temptation of Christ, that is, the temptation which led to man’s fall and the temptation which led to Satan’s failure. All other temptations in human history have to do with these two stories of temptation. Either we are tempted in Adam or we are tempted in Christ. Either the Adam in me is tempted – in which case I fall. Or the Christ in us is tempted- in which was Satan is bound to fall.”